Teachers share their funny Halloween adventures: Mr. Saunders

History teacher Chris Saunders humorously remembers his eighth grade Halloween as “more of a trick than treat.” Saunders and two other school friends decided to pull a prank on a neighborhood rival. “He didn’t actually go to my school, but he lived nearby,” Saunders recalled. “We just didn’t get along well. We bickered and I think we liked the same girl at one point in time too so I know that didn’t help.”

The plan was simple: to toilet paper the house and run. But before the boys had a chance to carry out the plan, word spread throughout their school. “I went to a really small school,” Saunders said. “We were up to no good and told people about it.”

Without their knowledge, a teacher overheard. “He went ahead and contacted my parents but school was already over and we were already out,” Saunders said.

Thinking the boys were going to get into trouble, the concerned parents frantically searched for Saunders and his friends throughout the streets of his hometown San Fran- cisco. “It just caused this huge mess of hysteria with teachers, parents, [and] friends,” Saunders said. “Everyone assumed the worst things happened. It snowballed out of control.”

Since none of the boys had cell phones, it was difficult for their parents to contact them. “Getting in contact when you were out was a lot harder,” he said. “We had no idea that anyone even knew what we were up to.”

However, Saunders and his friends decided not to follow through with their Halloween trick, but instead continued with their treats. “We ended up not doing it because we figured it’s a bad idea,” he said. “We didn’t do anything bad but the threat of it was enough to get attention from my parents.”
The boys ended the night safely and arrived at home, only to be greeted by fuming parents. “I’ll never forget the scolding that was given to me afterwards,” Saunders said. “It certainly caused more trouble than it would have ever been worth.”
What could have ended disastrously turned into a learning experience as “smarter minds prevailed.” Although now amusing, Saunders will never forget the lessons he learned. “Always think twice before doing anything,” he advised “The juice isn’t always worth the squeeze.”